Big man Smith earns contract at Coventry

Coventry have signed second row George Smith ahead of next season. The 6ft 9ins, 19st 8lbs lock joined at the start...

Roberts calls it a day

Wales and British and Irish Lions centre Jamie Roberts has retired at the age of 35. Roberts won 94 Wales caps...

Brown waits for his phone to ring

ON THE BLINDSIDE - BY NEIL FISSLER Former England full-back Mike Brown looks unlikely to be turning out for either Sale...

Grace looking to make most of return journey

PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW One hundred summers ago, Johnny Ring left Port Talbot on a journey of...

Ken Kennedy, a Lion whose impact on top sport lasted a lifetime

Peter Jackson The Lions have lost another of their Invincibles in former Ireland hooker Ken Kennedy. His sudden death at the...

Red cards are now haunting All Blacks

Peter Jackson In their first 112 years of Test rugby, the All Blacks got by without any more than three players...

The one that got away for Roberts

Peter Jackson If Jamie Roberts could only be granted the wish of playing one match over again, he would name the...

Baby Boks overpower Wales to clinch title

■By BEN JAYCOCK Wales ................27pts Tries: Grady 45, Westwood 63, Fackrell 73, Jones 77 Conversions: Hawkins 64, 78 Penalties: Hawkins 9...

Young Guns – Bristol Lock Charlie Rice

Bristol Bears second row Charlie Rice is living the dream playing for the club he supported as a boy and is...

Simple way to avoid cards, obey the laws

IT IS a sad day for rugby union when a leading coach criticises referees for strictly penalising players cynically ignoring the...

Lower tackle height

LIKE many others, I’ ve become increasingly concerned by the number of head injuries and concussions in our great game. Surely...

More balance please

WHAT a pity Colin Boag should spoil an otherwise well argued piece on how the All Blacks tend to be treated...

Better to be safe than sorry with concussion

COLIN BOAG Recently, World Rugby issued a statement designed ‘to help fans better understand the process of identifying and managing concussion...

Dream Team with Carl Fearns

Carl Fearns, the Newcastle Falcons and former Sale, Bath and Lyon no.8, chooses the best XV he has played with or...

Euro Super League is the way forward

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER All hail the Lelos for recording a famous 28-19 win over Italy last Sunday in a feisty...

Italians lift mood with double over England

Brendan Gallagher Italy’s disappointment at losing away to Georgia at senior level on Sunday will be slightly offset by a strong...

Rylands delight as he heads home to Bedford

NEWS EXTRA CARDIFF Met graduate Charlie Rylands will be living his childhood dream next season having signed for his boyhood club...

Rob’s faith inspired a decade of dreams

MY LIFEIN RUGBY PHIL DOLLMAN THE FORMER DRAGONS AND EXETER CHIEFS FULL-BACK/CENTRE ISUPPOSE my claim to fame is that I was...

How TMO helps and hinders referees

JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME Okay, I admit it. I got it wrong, I predicted another lesson...

Convert Will has appetite for return to union

NEWS EXTRA ■By BEN JAYCOCK Inspired by former cross-code stars, hard hitting rugby league convert Will Blakemore has his sights set...

Coastal pride and bursting with history

Brendan Gallagher Fylde have been producing significant players on the northern circuit for many decades and if big time honours have...

Fabulous Fylde consistently churned out some legendary performers, irrespective of code

As a prominent Lancashire club, Fylde have always co-existed with a number of Rugby League giants providing at least three players...

Contracts alone will not plug the gap – McMahon

■By BEN JAYCOCK The IRFU have promised to have women’s contracts in place in time for next year’s Six Nations, but...

RUGBY SHORTS

World Cup gets smart PLAYERS at this year’s women’s World Cup will be offered the opportunity to wear ‘smart’ mouthguards –...

Hughes the key as Hong Kong close in on their first World Cup

Five years on from leaving the carnage of London Welsh behind him, Glyn Hughes is an altogether happier place in his...

Sutherland heads for Kowloon after ‘an amazing time’ playing for Cardiff Met

HARRY Sutherland is looking forward to going outside his comfort zone after it was confirmed the Cardiff Met graduate will be...

Rock ‘n’ roll rugby as Wales fly north

Iconic Rugby Pictures: PART 119 - Wales board plane for epic Five Nations match against Scotland, February 4, 1971 Brendan Gallagher...

Top eight to follow in Spring’s footsteps

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Young Racing 92 fullback Max Spring earned careful praise from France head coach Fabien Galthie after a...

Jones will make Farrell his captain again, says Cueto

■By GARY FITZGERALD MARK Cueto believes Eddie Jones will reinstall Owen Farrell as captain in the runup to the World Cup....

Rugby has lost rhythm says Jones

ENGLAND coach Eddie Jones says rugby needs to find a “better balance” and believes an increased number of stoppages – including...

Summer Tours Week 4 Preview: Deciders for all Home Nations as series’ reach climax

Few could have predicted that all four Home Nations would hit back to win in the manner that they did last...

Zander Fagerson wins 50th cap as Scots ring changes

Tighthead prop Zander Fagerson is set to make his 50th Scotland appearance as the visitors make eight changes for the decisive...

Dan and Dillon passed fit as Wales make one change

Wales have made just one change for the second consecutive week after Dan Biggar was passed fit despite a shoulder problem....

France finish with a flourish against flat Georgia

Georgia U20s 17 (10) Tries: Kuntelia 8, Tsikhistavi 54Conversions: Khutsishvili 9, 55Penalties: Khutsishvili 23 France U20s 44 (17) Tries: Masse 27,...

Aki in for Ringrose as Ireland look to make history again

Bundee Aki comes in for the concussed Garry Ringrose as the sole Irish change ahead of their series decider with New...

Care and Chessum come in for England in decider at SCG

Danny Care returns to the England starting line-up and Ollie Chessum makes his first start as England head to the Sydney...

Lange treble takes South Africa to title

South Africa 47 (26) Tries: Nel 6, Lange 11, 27, 50, Hartzenberg 22, 56, James 60Conversions: Mngomezulu 8, 13, 23, Koevort...

Twickenham Stadium taking hospitality to the next level for the 2022 Autumn Nations Series

The hospitality sector has seen a seismic change in recent years following changing trends in society and the impact of the...

The Rugby Paper Podcast: Episode Twenty-Two with Gareth Chilcott

The Rugby Paper Podcast is back! Following a two-week hiatus at the end of the season, The Rugby Paper Podcast returns...

More misery for England on Treviso travels as Italy earn famous win

England U20s 31 (19) Tries: Carr-Smith 9, Fletcher 14, Stephens 16, Ilione 49, Lockett 66 Conversions: Harris 11, 16, 68 Italy...

How Is Crypto Used In Football?

Introducing Football Now is a brand-new series that explores some of the most pressing topics in the world of football. Though...

Should You Invest In A Football Club?

The ownership of a football club is traditionally reserved for extremely wealthy individuals; yet, many football fans search out share ownership...

Cristiano Ronaldo Signs an NFT Deal With Crypto Exchange Binance

On Thursday, Binance announced cooperation with Cristiano Ronaldo for the development of non-fungible tokens, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by transaction...

Ireland finish strong as Scotland end winless

Ireland U20s 41 (29) Tries: Hawkshaw 2, Wilson 11, King 14, Prendergast 17, Gibbons 23, Mangan 54, McCarthy 69 Conversions: Prendergast 3, 11,...

Ireland draw Maori series after Wellington win

Ireland continued their extraordinary turnaround on tour in New Zealand as they beat the Maori All Blacks 30-24 to level their...

Aix marks the spot for triumphant Namibia

Namibia 36-0 Kenya Namibia secured a spot in a seventh consecutive World Cup and won the 2022 Rugby Africa Cup with...

The Best Rugby Games for Rugby Fans

From the start of the match until it ends, rugby fans are on the edge of their seats. This is especially...

Georgia stun Italy to bring promotion into focus

Georgia 28-19 Italy Georgia produced an excellent performance to shock Italy and put sharp focus on the prospect of Six Nations...

Farrell’s boot sets up Sydney decider

From Adam Hathaway in Brisbane Eddie Jones labelled Owen Farrell the best competitor he has ever seen after the inside-centre booted...

Pivac sets sights on historic series win

Wayne Pivac has warned South Africa his team will fight tooth and nail to win the series next Saturday after becoming...